Update
1/16/2002: The Qb Label Contest
is now over! Andrew Davie has chosen three winners for this contest,
which must have been difficult given the over 100 wonderful entries
that were submitted. The winning labels
are:

David will receive one
of 100 Qb Special Edition packages emblazoned with
his label. You can read more about Andrew's decisions in this
thread, as well as discuss the contest with other AtariAge visitors.
Andrew has also announced the immediate availability of Qb -
Special Edition to those who previously signed up with him.
You can read more detailed information about what this special edition
so special here.

Qb
is a game developed in 2001 for the Atari 2600 by Andrew
Davie, who initially wrote a version of Qb for
the Atari
800 back in 1984. The game is pretty simple in concept, but
tricky in practice. Move the blocks on the large board so they match
the pattern on the small board. Problem is, you can only jump to
an adjacent block. The long-term aim is to achieve the highest score
possible. AtariAge is sponsoring a contest to provide a label for
Qb. The winning label will be used for a production
run of 100 Qb Special Edition packages. The winner
of the contest will receive one of these Special Edition packages.

The Qb Special Edition will feature:

A box made from wood, with a magnetic latch and lift-up lid
(like a cigar box). Each box will be painted to match the Qb screen
colors and include rare Tasmanian wood squares on top, in the
pattern of a tableaux of the game.

A comprehensive manual detailing the history of the game.

A CD with all the source code (about 30 snapshots of the game
in development).

A Qb cartridge individually burned with a serial number of 1
- 100 encoded in the ROM itself, emblazoned with the winning label
design.

Actual ROM is different from the release version (display tidied
up a bit and it's much more colorful). This ROM will only be available
in the Special Edition.

There are guaranteed to be only 100 copies, and the issue is
already fully-subscribed.

For more information about Qb, including the binary
that you can download and play on your computer, instructions on
how to play, source code, and development history, please visit
the Qb
Development Page.

The contest will run until Midnight (CST), Sunday, January 13th,
2002. All submissions must be received by this time! Andrew
Davie will choose the winning entry after the contest deadline has
passed.

Both a main label and an end label must be included
with your submission. For your label to be considered, the following
guidelines must be adhered to:

Artwork - This is the most important aspect of the label.
There are no restrictions or recommendations for the artwork so
you are free to create anything your imagination (and artistic
skills) can conjure up.

Qb - The game's title must appear on the label

XYPE - Qb is being released as a XYPE title (the first
of which was Gunfight).
Please use a similar style logo as it appears on the Gunfight
label. You can grab a copy of the XYPE logo by itself
here.

Hozer stuff. Since the Qb cartridges are being made by
Hozer Video
Games, the label additionally requires a Hozer logo on it,
as well as the text, "Cartridge made by Hozer Video Games".
Here are some examples of labels created for Hozer: Example
1, Example
2, Example
3. You can download this
image from the Hozer Video Games site, it's a reasonably large
version of the Hozer logo.

Clearly Legible Text - All text on the label must be
clearly legible at the size the label will be printed. Please
keep this important consideration in mind while you are designing
your label.

Use of Copyrighted Images - If you use any copyrighted
images, you must seek permission from the copyright holder before
using that image as part of your label. Likewise, any labels that
use artwork from a previously submitted label will be rejected.

Other details, such as copyright/name notices may be added later,
if needed. Labels should be saved in a non-lossy image format such
as PNG, TIFF, PCX, or BMP. If you need to save
your image using JPEG for some reason, please use a minimal amount
of compression. In order for the label to look good when printed,
it should be saved at at 200dpi or better. If you are concerned
about large file sizes you can drop
us a line before mailing the file, but generally anything under
10MB will not be a problem.

Please take care to make sure your label is proportioned correctly.
You may download these graphics to assist in this effort:

Please do not send your labels already attached to these graphics,
they are provided only to help you properly frame your labels. We
will shrink your labels and stick them on these graphics for inclusion
on this page where others may view them. The original, high-resolution
submissions will be sent to Andrew Davie when the contest is complete.